Organic Universe

Tuesday, January 27, 2015

Millions of GMO mosquitoes may be released in Florida neighborhood

Pointing to climate change and the rise of tropical diseases, British
researchers hope to sell their idea of releasing millions of
genetically modified mosquitoes in the Florida Keys. Almost 140,000
people have signed a petition against the plan.

For many years, the neighborhoods of the Florida Keys have been
sprayed with insecticides to ward off a host of bugs, including
perhaps the mother of all pests, the mosquito. Over time,
however, Aedes aegypti, a mosquito that can spread the dengue
fever, chikungunya, and yellow fever viruses has built up
resistance to many of the insecticides used to kill them.

The rising risk of a mosquito infestation and disease outbreak
presents an opportunity for one British firm, Oxitec, which has
developed a method for breeding Aedes aegypti that kills mosquito
larvae, AP reported.
According to Oxitec’s website, the process involves injecting a
“lethal gene” into either the male sperm or female egg
that eventually kills the offspring.

Change.org, the world’s largest petition platform, presented some
of the unintended consequences of releasing millions of mutant
mosquitos into the Florida Keys. For example, would the more
virulent Asian tiger mosquito, which is also a carrier of dengue,
“fill the void” left by a drop in Aedes aegypti
populations? Or will the dengue virus mutate and become even more
deadly?

The group calls efforts to introduce genetically modified
mosquitos a “radical approach” since dengue fever has
been absent from Key West since 2010. The group says this
“indicates the current methods of control and public
education are working.”

Oxitec says only non-biting male mosquitoes would be released,
while attempting to assure the public that no genetically
modified DNA would enter the bloodstream in the event of a bite
from an overlooked female specimen.

Experts, however, question the claims.

"I think the science is fine, they definitely can kill
mosquitoes, but the GMO issue still sticks as something of a
thorny issue for the general public," Phil Lounibos, a
researcher at the Florida Medical Entomology Laboratory, told AP.

"I'm on their side, in that consequences are highly unlikely.
But to say that there's no genetically modified DNA that might
get into a human, that's kind of a gray matter."

Oxitec spokeswoman Chris Creese said the experiment will be
similar in size to one held in 2012 in the Cayman Islands, where
3.3 million genetically modified mosquitoes were set loose over a
six- month period, resulting in the elimination of 96 percent of
the targeted insects, AP quoted.

Critics say the British firm failed to notify residents about the
possibility of being bitten by a few females overlooked by the
researchers.

As more people question anything genetically modified, especially
something that has the potential to suck their blood, resistance
to the idea is growing. Already, almost 140,000 people have
signed a Change.org petition to halt the experiment.

FDA spokeswoman Theresa Eisenman said no experiments with the
modified bugs will be permitted until the agency has
"thoroughly reviewed all the necessary information."

Marilyn Smith, a Florida Keys resident, wasn't sold on the plan
following Oxitec's presentation at a public meeting. Smith asked
"why are we being used as the experiment, the guinea pigs,
just to see what happens,"AP quoted her as saying.

Oxitec has a laboratory in Marathon, a Key West town of just over
10,000 people, and hopes to start releasing mosquitoes in the Key
West region this spring.

Healthesound.info

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